Run Away Bravely (Stormwind)

(I already have five cats lol. I’m not gonna be Sandstorm too)

Leafpool watched Jayfeather taking care of one of Swallowtail’s kits across the camp, her amber gaze soft as she watched her son. Most cats would take it as the pride of a mentor, but those in the know and a few select others (mostly mothers) would recognize it for what it was: the pride and love of a mother.

Firestar soon left the tree as well, going off in search of the one cat he had yet to talk to today and yet desperately wanted to see: Sandstorm.

Mistystar nodded before getting to her paws and vanishing to go do something else that was also important. Onestar also left.

Lionblaze dipped his head, not sensing any dissent within the remaining leaders, though he cast a wary glance at Blackstar as the disgruntled tom disappeared into the upper branches of another tree.

Firestar nodded. “I’ll have Brambleclaw assemble a patrol.” As far as the tom figured, the deputies were still deputies, able to serve their roles as assistants to the leaders they were appointed by. This had never been formally worked out amongst the leaders of Darkclan, however.

Mistystar carefully hid her grimace and dipped her head in acknowledgment and agreement. While it was quite obvious that Firestar knew that Mothwing didn’t speak to StarClan, she doubted he knew that she didn’t even believe in them. She’d only discovered this during her leader ceremony.

“I would suggest Mothwing stays behind,” Firestar mewed carefully, hoping not to offend Mistystar. “She has the weakest connection to Starclan.”

Mistystar watched the oldest of them leave before turning to the rest of her fellow leaders. “Not all the medicine cats can go,” she pointed out. “At least one of them will need to stay here.”

Firestar nodded his agreement. Blackstar, meanwhile, left the tree with a shake of his head, a flick of his tail, and a low growl, clearly displeased.

Mistystar nodded in agreement. Apprentices weren’t even allowed to leave the camp without at least one warrior currently, so it only made sense to not allow them to go on the patrol.

“No apprentices.” Was Lionblaze’s only condition for the patrol. “Only medicine cats and warriors.”

Blackstar and Onestar grumbled and scowled but knew that Lionblaze’s vote was the final word on the subject and so didn’t do anything else. Mistystar let out a small breath of relief, nodding her head.

Lionblaze finally opened his eyes, the golden brown tabby lifting his tail and pointing it upward to show that he was voting in favor of the patrol, deciding the matter by a 3-2 vote in favor.

Mistystar kept her mouth shut, well-aware that out of the four of them she had the lowest authority as the newest leader. She hoped Lionblaze voted in the positive.

Leafpool eventually looked away, growing bored of watching them argue, and looked around the camp, which was pretty empty for once as most cats were out hunting or guarding the area around the log. They didn’t know if the infected would be able to cross the log, but they weren’t taking risks.

Onestar voted no almost immediately, his faith understandably rattled by the lack of guidance from Starclan in this trying time. Blackstar joined him, arguing the risk was too great.

It came down to Lionblaze, who sat thoughtfully for a moment, not used to having to make such huge decisions. There were lives at stake here, but there was a great potential for reward as well.

Mistystar didn’t vote immediately, taking a moment to think about it, but she did end up voting in favor of the idea, still feeling troubled by the fact that during her leadership ceremony, none of the StarClan cats even mentioned or alluded to the infected.

Leafpool watched the gesticulating leaders curiously and tilted her head to the side, wondering what they were talking about.

In the tree, the issue had proceeded to a vote. While Leafpool was a bit too far away to hear what was being said, the procedure required every cat to make a physical signal as well.

Firestar voted in favor of sending a patrol to the Moonpool, having been the originator of the idea. He looked expectantly to Mistystar, believing she would agree after having discussed this with her earlier.

(I found an events timeline on the Warriors Wiki and apparently I was kinda off with multiple cats’ ages, so... I fixed the order of cats on the Clan list near the beginning of the thread and added ages to the kits and apprentices)

Leafpool briefly arched her back in a stretch, pushing her forepaws out in front of her and tail curling over her back, before settling herself to groom her pale brown tabby coat.

By that point, Firestar was in deep discussion with the other leaders and Lionblaze about sending out a patrol to escort the medicine cats to the Moonpool. While it was not yet time for the new moon, the fiery-furred cat felt uneasy with the amount of time they had gone without some sort of guiding vision.

Leafpool stirred only hours later in the late afternoon, yawning widely as she opened her eyes. She lay there for a few moments longer before sitting up, blinking sleepily.

Leafpool was left undisturbed, though Crowfeather cast a glance her direction as he padded past, as did Firestar, who smiled, grateful that his tired, overworked daughter had found a nice place to rest.  She still looked so adorable as she slept, even as a grown medicine cat.

Leafpool immediately sprawled out in a patch of sunlight, relieved to finally be able to take a break. Not caring about anyone who might be near, she closed her amber eyes and relaxed, letting the sunlight soak into her fur.

The new clearing was massive. With only one clan the entire island essentially served the as the clearing, with the dens arranged in what was almost a full circle around the clearing. There was only a gap as wide as the log, which meant that guards didn’t even have to climb out onto it now.

Leafpool quietly sat there watching her sister until Mothwing returned with a bundle of herbs. The two made small talk for a short while before Leafpool was finally able to leave the den for the first time that day, leaving Mothwing in charge of the den for the time being.

“I know,” Squirrelflight Replied, looking longingly at the small circle of light that came in from the entrance to the den until she sighed and drifted back off to sleep.

“You’re going to be sleeping until you’re better,” Leafpool said firmly.